The new cultivar, Echinopsis ‘Mardi Gras’, was developed by the inventor, Renee O'Connell, as the result of a crossing made March 2012 as part of a planned breeding program. The seed parent variety is the unpatented proprietary variety referred to as Echinopsis hybrida ‘Yel 08’, a member of the Chamaelobivia group of Echinopsis. The pollen parent is the unpatented proprietary variety Echinopsis hybrida ‘Wint 17’, a member of the Lobivia group. Echinopsis ‘Mardi Gras’ was selected by the inventor, Renee O Connell, in April of 2013 from a group of seedlings resulting from the 2012 crossing, at a commercial greenhouse in Vista. Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘Mardi Gras’ was first performed in Vista, Calif., at a commercial greenhouse, by vegetative offsets, known as “peanuts” in April of 2013. ‘Mardi Gras’ has since produced multiple generations and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.